Hello everyone! It’s me again, writing from Rottenburg am Neckar! It’s been a crazy day so it’ll be a short post, but there’s some stuff you should be filled in on! Early start to the day, long journey traversed, but inspiring and energizing performance put on! It just keeps getting better here in Germany, and it’s a pleasure to share it with all of you.

We left Wittenburg today at about 9 a.m., only to set forth on a very long journey. With about five hours to Rottenburg am Neckar, we stopped for lunch, but other than that had a very long bus ride, and although we just sat around, sitting becomes very tiring after awhile! I would talk about the various things we ate today, but I’ve been acquiring a reputation for being a food critic, so it’s simply the day’s events for this post!

When we arrived in Rottenburg, we went out on a tour of the town, then were quickly rushed to rehearsal, and then even more quickly sent off to dinner. After dinner we went right back to the church and had our concert! Although we’ve been rushing around a lot, it’s nothing we can’t handle at this point in the trip. The church we sang in was absolutely beautiful, and had a beautiful sound when we sang. As if that wasn’t reason enough to love performing there, the house was packed when it came time to perform! People filled the church, making it a thrilling and meaningful performance for all of us, knowing that not only did we have a reputation to uphold, but we also knew our audience deserved an amazing performance. Emily German, a student at Valpo, was also there, because she has been studying abroad in Rottenburg this past semester. She brought a group of other students from the music school, and it was a joy to see her again and to perform in front of a fellow Choralian.

Although during rehearsal it seemed questionable to how the performance would go, all initial fear of performing disappeared after the first song. The way the audience reacted to our music was a joy to watch, and we knew we were sent there for a reason. The concert was simply amazing, and I was fortunate enough to have a short conversation with a man who sat in the front row, ecstatic over our performance the whole time.

Outside of the church, he told me and a group of other Choralians that our performance was touching and wonderful. He also explained how it was not customary for Germans to clap inside of a church. Well not only was this audience clapping, but they were cheering, and asking for more. As we exited the church to the sound of applause, Jake Tewes asked Dr. C [Christopher Cock] if we could go back in and perform one more. Instead of turning the idea down, Dr. C said, “OK let’s do it!” and we marched right back into the church. We didn’t do just one encore though. We did two! During the applause of the first encore, Dr. C turned to us and said we should do another round of our spiritual, Hallelujah. The crowd loved it, and we even got a standing ovation after our first encore!

The whole night was a tremendous feeling of accomplishment, and a rush of energy. There was no question in our minds that we were sent there for a purpose, and that every performance we will have is going to be just as meaningful. Thanks so much for reading, and hopefully we can keep you up to date with more information as we tour all over Germany! The work gets harder, but the rewards become greater as we keep sharing our gifts with others. If you haven’t already started reading, get to it, because we still have a week of more exciting towns, delicious food, and inspiring performances for you to come be a part of! Bis spaeter!